Vitamins and Minerals that Help with the Keto Diet

To ensure that we remain strong and healthy during ketosis, it is beneficial to have some keto vitamins and minerals supplements.

One of the new crazes among the people who are aiming to lose weight fast is the ketogenic or keto diet. Many people have been interested and hooked with this diet plan as several celebrities have promoted and recommended it due to its impressive results when it comes to losing weight.

Unlike the other diet plans like calorie counting wherein calories are limited, ketogenic diet is about eating low carbohydrate and high fat foods. It revolves in the idea that when we get the body into the metabolic state referred to as ketosis, it will use fat deposits, convert them to ketones to become the body’s energy source instead of the usual glucose which we get from high carbohydrate foods.

Since a lot of foods are discouraged when practicing keto diet, there might be some minerals and vitamins that are body will be missing. So to ensure that we remain strong and healthy during ketosis, it is beneficial to have some keto vitamins and minerals supplements. With these supplements, the adverse effects of keto diet will be addressed and athletic performance will also be improved. To help you with your weight loss journey, below are some of the best keto vitamins and minerals to have.

Keto Vitamins and Minerals

Magnesium

A lack in magnesium is very common when practicing the ketogenic diet. This is because fruits, nuts, beans and other foods that are rich in magnesium happen to be also rich in carbohydrates. Thus, many nutritionists recommend keto dieters to have a minimum of 200 milligrams and a maximum of 400 milligrams of magnesium daily to support their immune system and keep their blood sugar in the healthy levels as during ketosis a rapid decrease in blood sugar will occur and could be fatal to dieters.

Aside from blood sugar regulation, magnesium is also beneficial to address the symptoms commonly dealt with by people who are new to the keto diet. These include irritability, difficulty in sleeping as well as muscle cramps. For those who are not interested in taking supplements, some of the low carbohydrate but high magnesium foods to be included in the daily diet are spinach, Swiss chard, mackerel, pumpkin seeds and avocado.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fish oil, kill oil and other related supplements do not just have high omega-3 fatty acids content but are also rich in docosahexaenoic acid as well as eicosapentaenoic acid which offer a lot of health benefits to us. Many diet plans that are popular nowadays including the ketogenic diet recommend foods that are rich in omega-6 fatty acids such as vegetable oils but lack in omega-3 fatty acids.

This situation may cause some health troubles if not managed accordingly as the imbalance in these acids may cause inflammation in our body. To stay healthy while on keto diet, EPA and DHA which are found in omega-3 fatty acids supplements will do the deal as they are proven by many researchers to be effective in lessening inflammation, alleviate brain health decline and reduce heart disease risks. To support this claim, a study participated by some ketogenic dieters found that those who had krill oil in their diet had less inflammatory markers, insulin levels and triglycerides than the subjects who have not received any omega-3 fatty acids supplement. As a word of reminder, omega-3 fatty acids supplements should not be taken along with blood thinning drugs since these could further thin the blood.

Vitamin D

Regular intake of foods rich in vitamin D is recommended to everyone and not just to those who are practicing the keto diet because it is crucial to help our body parts function accordingly. Among the benefits that we can get from vitamin D are effective calcium absorption, better immune system support, cellular growth regulation and bone health promotion. Above all, vitamin D is also necessary to lessen body inflammation which is common to those who are in keto diet.

Proteolytic Enzymes

One of the health problems commonly experienced by ketogenic dieters is the occurrence of gastrointestinal diseases such as diarrhea and nausea. This challenge was due to the fact that having a high fat diet may have a troubling effect on our digestive system especially to those who are new to this diet program. In order to address this challenge, it is highly recommended that people who are new to keto diet add proteolytic enzymes to their daily diet as these will promote digestion by breaking down the proteins and fats easily.

Green Vegetables Powder

Many green vegetables powders are rich in the nutrients and minerals from chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, spinach, broccoli, kale and other related plants. Green powders are essential to ketogenic dieters because it is highly possible that they lack vegetables in their daily diet as they focus on high fat foods. Green powders are very convenient to be added to our daily diet as they can be used to make smoothies and shakes which will ensure that keto dieters stay healthy during their weight loss journey.

Other Supplements Needed by Keto Dieters

Many keto dieters are also engaged in strenuous activities such as sports or high intensity exercises. To enhance their athletic performance, here are some of the supplements that they will need.

Caffeine is important to athletes who are new to ketogenic diet. They can get this from having an additional cup of green tea or coffee daily.

Branched-chain amino acid supplements are proven to be effective in addressing and managing muscle soreness, muscle damage and exercise fatigue.

Beta-alanine compensates muscle burnout and fatigues which are common during ketosis.

Beta-hydroxy Beta-methylbutyrate or HMB is crucial to prevent muscle loss that usually happens during high intensity workouts.

As a summary, these keto vitamins and minerals should be added to our diet as this will help condition the body to easily get into ketosis. Additionally, with the introduction of these supplements, keto flu symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, irritability, sleep disturbance and inflammation will also be prevented.